Downton Abbey Episode 02.05
Episode 02.05 is the fifth episode of the second season of the UK-US period drama, Downton Abbey. This episode focuses on the aftermath of Matthew Crawley and William Mason being injured in war. Daisy Robinson would marry William and six hours later, she becomes a war widow. This episode marks the final appearance of Thomas Howes as William Mason. This also marks the debut of Paul Copley in the recurring role of William's father and Daisy's surrogate father, Albert Mason. PLOT In Amiens, France, in 1918, a campaign comes along where the company in which Matthew and William are involved. When a shell lands near them, both Daisy and Lady Mary Crawley feels as if someone walked over their graves. The feeling turns out that both men were injured during the battle of Amiens. Joseph Molesley brings a telegram which announced that Matthew was injured and would be brought back to Downton. Since his mother, Isobel received the telegram and she was still in Paris, Molesley was allowed to open it. The next morning, Lady Edith would find out that William was taken to the hospital at Leeds. She and her grandmother, Violet Crawley would move heaven and earth to try to get the gravely wounded William moved back to Downton and from Leeds. Dr. Clarkson (David Robb) refuses, stating that it is a hospital for officers only (William was an enlisted man, he was Matthew's batman) and that he couldn't break the rules. This infuriates Violet, who rants that "give little people power, it goes to their heads like strong drink!" Meanwhile, John Bates and Anna Smith Bates are shaken by the injuries of both William and Matthew and they go to pray at the church. What they don't know is that Bates' nasty wife, Vera Bates (Maria Doyle Kennedy), who announces that she lied to Bates to keep him on a short leash, while she indulged in affairs! She sells the story of Mary and Kemal Pamuk to Sir Richard Carlisle (Iain Glen), who would later become engaged to Mary. Violet uses her connections to the family to convince the doctor at the Leeds hospital to go over Dr. Clarkson's head and transfer William back to Downton. While she is doing that, Mary, who volunteers to help, and her youngest sister, Sybil help bring Matthew in to recuperate after the war injuries. It was revealed that Sarah O'Brien had been the one who called Vera to Downton, and this causes her and her former partner in crime, Thomas Barrow to get into an argument. O'Brien has some conscience about it, and hates the idea that she had, inadvertently, brought scandal to Downton. She vows to protect Cora Crawley from any scandal, even one she brought about! While William's body is outwardly all right, showing no signs of injury, all of his injuries were internal and were so grave that death would be certain, but when, nobody knew. Mrs. Hughes goes to a nearby town and meets with Ethel whom she had fired, and helps her, despite her dislike for what she had done. Another housemaid who replaced Ethel, a woman named Jane Moorsom, who somewhat catches the eye of Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham. Mary brings Lavinia Swire (Zoe Boyle) to Downton so she can be with Matthew. She is devastated about what happened to him. Later on, Isobel comes back from Paris to be with Matthew while he recovers. William proposes to Daisy and she reluctantly accepts. After being convinced to do so (in her own inimitable way) by Violet, the two of them are married in the guest room of Downton, with the entire inside staff, along with Lady Edith and Violet (who was crying, but passes it off as a cold!) in attendance. Daisy stays at his side while he breathes his last. Mrs. Beryl Patmore comes in, telling Daisy gently, "You look so tired, my love, let me sit here so you can go have a lie down." Then, Mr. Mason says, "He won't be needing us now." At that point, the episode ends with William having passed away, six hours after he married Daisy, leaving her a very young war widow. Category:Downton Abbey episodes